


The Vanishing Glass

by authorette



Series: Seen And Unforseen: The Vanity Harry Potter AU Series [1]
Category: Emmerdale
Genre: F/F, Just Roll With It, Ok so I’m just going to say it, also look I wrote something where they don’t have sex every five minutes, and Charity as the redeemed Slytherin, basically a load of nonsense, featuring Vanessa as the perfect Hufflepuff, i’m not even going to apologise for this madness, this is the Harry Potter AU no one asked for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-02 09:14:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17261552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/authorette/pseuds/authorette
Summary: Vanessa meets Charity on her first day at Hogwarts, and although the odds are stacked against them, they become friends. But dark forces beyond their control separate them for many years, and when Vanessa sees Charity again, twelve years later, those same powers threaten to tear them apart once again.AKA the Harry Potter Vanity AU no one asked for.





	The Vanishing Glass

**Author's Note:**

> I have no explanation for this. I blame too many mince pies and gin over Christmas.  
> A general understanding of the plot of Harry Potter is useful but not strictly necessary to read this.  
> CW: discussion of sexual assault, torture, war, murder, hate crimes.  
> If anyone decides to give this madness a go, feel free to say hi in the comments or on  Tumblr!

The Vanishing Glass

 

“Ok, so, before we go in,” Paddy stutters, tugging at Vanessa’s elbow, “there’s something I have to tell you.”

Vanessa rolls her eyes. “Please tell me this isn’t another thing about you and Rhona because I’ve _told_ you, Paddy, I’m done being your go-between. I’m friends with both of you and it’s awkward enough for me as it is.”

She shoves open the door to the Three Broomsticks and feels herself begin to sweat at the heat inside. It’s only June, and it’s Scotland and all, but the wizarding world still hasn’t caught onto air conditioning and so the inside of the pub is warm and sticky.

“Let’s get some cold pumpkin juice,” Vanessa suggests with a smile, “and then you can give me the gossip on this whole tournament thingy.” 

She notices Paddy is anxiously looking around and rolls her eyes. “Sorry, I forgot it’s all hush-hush.”

“Why don’t you go sit down, and I’ll grab the drinks,” Paddy suddenly says shrilly. “Over there is good, isn’t it?”

Vanessa turns to where he’s pointing and looks back at him, incredulous. “Paddy, that’s next to the fire. I’m going to melt in a minute. Why don’t we just-“

She breaks off, feels her words die in her throat. Because behind the bar, in light grey summer robes, pulling pints of butterbeer, is Charity Dingle.

*** 

“Are you going to stare at that wall all day?” a voice behind her asks, and Vanessa turns to see a girl about her age behind her, smirking with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, I was just…” Vanessa scrambles for an explanation, remembering the dire warnings about the Statute of Secrecy, but then she clocks that the girl has an owl with her. “Are you, erm…” She gestures at the wall.

“First time?” The girl cocks her head to the side. 

Vanessa nods. She’s been watching family after family disappear through the wall between platforms nine and ten but she feels like her feet are glued to the ground every time she tells herself she’s going to try. 

Some part of her is still expecting someone to pop up and tell her that she’s been had in some elaborate prank.

“It’s actually a gate, disguised as a wall,” the girl tells her. “But it helps if you take it at a bit of a run, the first time.” She pushes her luggage cart closer, then takes a furtive look around. “You coming?”

Vanessa feels her feet move almost without her permission, as she follows the girl.

And then suddenly the girl is passing _through_ the wall, and Vanessa follows her almost without thought and at the last moment she expects to hit the brick but suddenly she’s through as well, and then she’s standing on a busy platform in front of a bright red train, and the blonde girl is waiting for her, grinning.

“See? Wasn’t so hard, was it?”

Vanessa smiles back, some of the nerves in her stomach settling. “Thanks. I’m Vanessa. Vanessa Woodfield.”

“Hello, Vanessa Vanessa Woodfield.” 

Vanessa rolls her eyes but she can feel herself grinning at the joke despite herself. 

“Charity,” the girl says after a moment. “You a first year?”

Vanessa nods. 

“Me too.” 

“Charity!” An older boy with thick, dark hair is calling for her, and she rolls her eyes.

“In a minute, Cain!” She turns back to Vanessa with an eye-roll. “My cousin.”

“Oh.” Vanessa stomach sinks. She had kind of been hoping that she’d found someone to sit with, but Charity will probably want to sit with her family. “Well, thanks, for your help back there.”

Charity shrugs, but she gives Vanessa a small smile that makes her eyes glitter a little in the morning sun. “See you around.” 

Then she’s gone, swallowed by the crowd of parents hugging their children, and Vanessa tries to ignore that her Mum couldn’t even be bothered getting out of the car at Leeds station earlier, and drags her trunk onto the train.

*** 

It’s been twelve years since she’s seen Charity, but seeing her still feels like she’s been punched in the gut.

“That’s what I was trying to tell you, Paddy says, squirming next to her. “She works here now.”

“Oh.” Her voice sounds weird and high pitched and she swallows hard. Her heart is thumping so hard she feels sick.

It isn’t fair, that Charity can still make her feel like this, after all this time. After all those years and everything that Vanessa has done, has accomplished, and all it takes is one look at Charity bloody Dingle and she feels like she’s sixteen all over again.

“I’m going to go sit down,” she says weakly. “Why don’t you go get the drinks.” Paddy nods, but it’s too late. Charity’s looked up and seen them, and for a moment it feels like one of those muggle romcoms that she watched with her mum back in the day, where time freezes when two people’s eyes meet. 

And then Charity’s eyes go wide and she raises her eyebrows. “Well, well! If it isn’t Vanessa Woodfield.”

“Charity,” she nods, proud of the way that her voice is almost steady. 

“What brings you to our little corner of the world?” Charity grins. “Thought you were off wrestling dragons and taming Chimera and all that jazz.”

Vanessa struggles to keep the surprise off her face at the implication that Charity’s been keeping up with what she’s been doing. 

But she mustn’t do a good job, because Charity rolls her eyes. “You’ve got a column in the _Prophet_ don’t you? See it sometimes when I’m looking for the crossword.” She hesitates for a moment. “And your book is on the reading list for Noah’s Care of Magical Creatures class.”

God, Noah. The living, breathing reminder of exactly how much time has passed. “I can’t believe he’s at Hogwarts.”

“Tell me about it.” Charity reaches down and gets two glasses. “Still pumpkin juice?” Vanessa nods, the awkwardness suddenly thickening the air between them. “I’ll bring them over.”

Vanessa nods sharply and turns away, sinking onto the wood of one of the chairs furthest from the bar.

“You ok?” Paddy asks, but Vanessa has no idea how to answer that question.

*** 

“This seat taken?” Vanessa looks up from where she’s feeling sorry for herself and see a girl and a boy, around her age, smiling at her. “I’m Rhona and this is Paddy.” 

“Vanessa,” she introduces herself. “And no, sit down!”

Paddy and Rhona are first years too, and they’re both from wizarding families and very patiently answer Vanessa’s hundreds of questions.

She can already tell they’re going to be friends.

“What house do you think you’ll be sorted into?” Paddy asks, after they’ve been on the train for a couple of hours. 

Vanessa shrugs. “Dunno.” She’s been reading _Hogwarts: A History_ but it’s hard to put yourself in a house without really knowing much about it.

“My whole family’s been in Gryffindor,” Rhona says, “so if I had to guess that’s probably going to be it.” She makes a face. “Long as it’s not Slytherin, eh?”

“What’s wrong with Slytherin?” Vanessa asks, suddenly nervous, because if Slytherin is the house for losers she’d much rather know in advance in case she gets any sort of say in the matter.

“Nothing as such,” Paddy says, in that old-man way he has of explaining things which Vanessa already finds both infuriating and endearing. “But a lot of the people in it have some very _particular_ ideas about magic and who should be allowed to practice it.”

Vanessa furrows her brow. “I don’t understand.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Rhona says kindly. “You’ll never end up in Slytherin, I promise.”

They change the subject, and after a while, Vanessa heads out to find the loo. 

As she squeezes down the train, she passes a compartment with a face in it she recognises.

It’s Charity, sitting with a bunch of kids who are clearly much older than she is.

Vanessa smiles and waves at her, but her face falls when Charity completely blanks her.

She can’t hear what’s being said in the compartment because the door is shut, but she sees the boys sitting with Charity look her up and down, at her jeans and T-shirt, and snigger. 

Vanessa realises, self-consciously, that most of the other kids are already in their robes. She blushes and moves past the compartment quickly, resolving to change as soon as she gets back from the loo.

When she pushes open the door, however, Charity is standing there.

“Hi.”

Charity doesn’t say anything, just gives her a long look. Then: “Your parents are muggles, aren’t they?”

Vanessa is taken aback by this line of questioning. “Yes?” She suddenly has a weird feeling in her stomach. “Is that a problem?”

Charity flicks her hair over her shoulder with an impatient gesture of her hand. “Not for me.” She hesitates. “Look, I didn’t mean to ignore you back there.” A dark look crosses her face. “I just-“

“Everything ok?” Rhona is frowning at them in the corridor behind Charity and Charity quickly steps back. 

“Just peachy, Goskirk.” She moves past Rhona back to her own compartment, jostling Rhona’s shoulder as she passes.

“You ok?” Rhona looks at her with concern.

“Yeah.” She’s confused by what just happened. “Do you know Charity?”

“Kind of.” She hesitates. “Look, Vanessa, I don’t want you to worry or anything, but there’s a few people in the wizarding community who have these very old fashioned views about who should be taught magic. About people who’s parents are muggles. And the Dingles…” She trails off. “It’s probably just best if you stay away from them.”

Vanessa remembers the way the boys with Charity had laughed at her, and something hot and sick wells up in her stomach. “Charity’s not like that.”

Rhona shrugs. “Look, I don’t really know any of them personally. I just know what I hear.” She gives Vanessa a reassuring smile. “And don’t worry, there’ll be loads of muggle born kids in our year. And if anyone says anything to you, just send them my way, ok?”

Vanessa nods, smiling. She’s lucky to have made a friend so early, and she hopes that she ends up in the same house as Rhona. 

They head back to their seats and Vanessa glances quickly to where Charity was previously sitting, but he seat is empty.

*** 

“So, the Triwizard Tournament,” Vanessa says immediately when Paddy sits down. “Who’s bright idea was it to let loose a bunch of dragons on some teenagers?”

She’s talking too fast for it to pass as casual conversation, but Paddy’s kind enough not to call her on her obvious diversion tactic and goes along with it.

She is genuinely interested in the tournament, and it’s nice that they asked her to supervise the magical creatures being imported for all the various tasks. She would have been raging to find out that they’d got someone else in when they bring a Sphinx to the UK for the first time in forty eight years.

But her mind is only half on their discussion, because she can almost _feel_ Charity behind her, and it’s taking everything not to turn round and look at her.

God, she’s a grown woman. It’s been _twelve years_. She needs to pull herself together.

“So, you staying long?” Charity asks behind her, making her jump. She places the pumpkin juice down on the table and Vanessa watches as the beads of condensation pool around the bottom of the glass.

“Leaving tomorrow,” Vanessa says. “Got a room here tonight.” Then she realises that instead of just making conversation that sounds like an invitation, and she splutters to recover. Across the table, Paddy’s eyes have gone wide. “I mean, I’m staying here. Because, you know, meetings tomorrow.”

Charity is smirking at her in that way of hers that always used to make Vanessa’s blood boil with frustration.

“Good to know.” She gives her a little wink and moves back to the bar, and Vanessa lets her forehead fall onto the table. 

“What is wrong with me?” she groans.

“There, there,” Paddy says gently. “It wasn’t that bad.”

“Did it or did it not sound like I was inviting her to my room?” Vanessa snaps.

“Well, I mean, a bit,” Paddy stutters.

“Then how is it not that bad?” She groans again. “God, it’s been bloody years and I still lose my brain when I’m within five metres of her.” 

*** 

Charity is the third first year to be sorted, and Vanessa watches eagerly as she stalks up to the stool and defiantly places the sorting hat on her head.

The hat takes a while with her. Longer than with the two that had gone before. They can’t hear what’s being said, but Vanessa sees that Charity is clutching at the stool so tightly her knuckles turn white. 

“Slytherin!” the hat eventually calls out, and Vanessa’s heart sinks a little as she remembers Paddy and Rhona’s words on the train.

Charity doesn’t look surprised; she ducks her head down and heads over to the table on the far side, and Vanessa sees her cousin Cain give her a brief slap on the back as she sits down next to him. 

Rhona is put in Gryffindor and Paddy goes to Hufflepuff, and Vanessa is kind of relieved because it means she now knows someone in three of the houses.

The numbers around her dwindle and she realises with a start that she’s going to be the last one left. 

“Vanessa Woodfield.”

She feels the eye of hundreds of students on her and fights the blush she knows is spreading over her face. She quickly grabs the hat and pulls it on, and it’s so big it sinks halfway down her face.

“Well, well,” the hat says loudly in her ear, and Vanessa flinches. “What do we have here?”

Vanessa tries not to fidget; her mum always tells her it’s unbecoming. 

“Bit of a hothead, I see. Hard worker, curious mind. Very loyal. Kind heart.” Vanessa is sure the hat must be able to feel her blush. “I think it’s going to have to be…HUFFLEPUFF!” She hears it yell the last word out loud, and Vanessa stumbles off the stool as fast as she can and towards the space Paddy has saved for her. 

“Welcome!” one of the older students says to her, and several shake her hand. She smiles and sits down on the long bench, and then glances across at the Slytherin table, to find Charity is watching her. She gives her a small wave and Charity looks away, but Vanessa could almost swear that she saw a small smile on her face for a second. 

*** 

“Good night, sweetheart,” Vanessa says to Johnny, who looks a lot less freaked out by his mother’s head in the fire than his aunt, who still flinches every time Vanessa uses any sort of magic around her.

“Say night night to Mummy,” Tracy tells him, bouncing him on her knee.

Johnny gives her a little wave, and Vanessa tries not to cringe when it makes the flowers on the table in front of him change colour. 

It’s lucky Tracy’s husband David is so unobservant because they often babysit for her and Johnny is still in that toddler phase where they have no control over their magic whatsoever.

“Look at the ass on that,” Vanessa hears behind her, and she fights a blush. 

“I have to go, Tracy.” 

“Why?” Tracy looks at her with suspicion. “Is there someone there with you?”

Vanessa tries to keep a neutral expression but Tracy still squeals in delight. “Vee! Are you holding out on me?”

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow Tracy.” 

She pulls her head out of the fire and turns to face Charity, who is standing in the middle of the room with her hands in the pockets of her robes.

“I did knock,” Charity says.

“And when I didn’t answer you just let yourself in?” She’s not actually annoyed, more flustered.

“Well, you did invite me,” Charity replies.

Vanessa’s mouth dropped open. “I didn’t!”

“Want me to go?” Charity takes a step towards the door, but she’s smirking like she knows before Vanessa does that she’s going to shake her head.

They look at each other for a moment, and Vanessa feels her palms begin to sweat. “So, how have you been?” she asks stupidly, and then rolls her eyes at herself.

“Ness,” Charity says, and Vanessa suddenly feels close to tears at the way that she’s still affected by her voice.

“You look good.” Much better than the last time Vanessa saw her.

“So do you.” Charity takes a step closer and Vanessa tries to suppress the instinct to step back. “Who were you talking to then?”

“Saying goodnight to my son, Johnny. He’s two.”

Charity freezes. “Is he with your…” 

“My sister.” Vanessa laughs at Charity’s raises eyebrows. “Yeah, I know. Turns out my dad had secrets too.”

“Does she know you’re a witch?” 

Vanessa nods. “Had to tell her after Johnny was born. He keeps doing magic left right and centre.”

“I know how it is.” Charity laughs a little. “I actually have a wee one too. Moses. He keeps magicking himself onto the wardrobe.”

Vanessa laughs but her stomach clenches; Charity’s ring finger is bare but that doesn’t mean anything.

“Hard to keep track of him on my own,” Vanessa says, cringing internally at the obvious question in her voice.

But Charity’s eyes widen and a genuine smile crosses her lips. “Yeah, it’s good to get a break when I drop Moses off with his dad.”

Vanessa ducks her head, trying not to sigh too obviously in relief, and then swallows hard when she looks up again because Charity has moved close to her, so close they’re almost touching.

“It’s good to see you,” she breathes, and Charity chuckles a little, and then reaches out slowly and gently places her hand on the back of Vanessa’s head, pulling her closer slowly. 

Vanessa lets her eyes flutter shut. She’s always been defenceless to Charity like this, and she’s done pretending that this wasn’t what she was hoping for from the moment she saw Charity behind the bar this afternoon. That does mean that it doesn’t still hurt, what Charity said to her twelve years ago. 

But Vanessa has been with others since then, men and women, witches and wizards and muggles, and not a single one had come close to making her feel the way Charity does.

Their first kiss in twelve years is feather light and delicate, and Vanessa hears and feels Charity sigh a little into her mouth. 

“Merlin, Ness,” Charity breathes, and Vanessa reaches up to cup Charity’s face firmly in her hands and crashes their mouths together with intent. 

*** 

Hufflepuff first years have half their classes with Gryffindor, so Vanessa gets to see plenty of Rhona, and they spend a lot of their spare time in the library together.

She also becomes good friends with Paddy, and the whole Hufflepuff house is generally a friendly and welcoming place to be.

Vanessa’s initial wobble of homesickness in the Hogwarts Express doesn’t return, and her dorm feels more like home with every night she spends in it.

On the morning of her first potions class, she lets Paddy go ahead because he always looks mortified if he has to wait for her outside the girls’ bathroom, and when she skids into the dungeon, one of the other Hufflepuff boys has already sat next to him. 

She looks around, and realises with a jolt that they have this class with the Slytherins.

She scans the room and quickly finds what she’s looking for; Charity is at the back of the class, her head lying on her arm and doodling on her parchment. 

Vanessa strides down the middle of the rows and plonks herself down next to her. “Hi!”

Then she looks up and realises that the entire class is gawping at her.

Charity raises her head in surprise. “What are you doing?”

Vanessa falters. “Were you saving this space for someone?”

Charity snorts like that’s a stupid question. “No.”

Relieved, Vanessa smiles. “Well, then. Potions partners?”

Charity stares at her curiously, like she’s trying to figure out a very complicated puzzle, and then shakes her head very slightly and grins. “Yeah, ok.”

Professor Slughorn enters the classroom and takes the register, and when he reaches Charity’s name he frowns. “Another Dingle, eh?” He doesn’t sound pleased, and Charity scowls in response. “Make sure you keep your toe in line, Miss Dingle.”

“You’d think he’s like us, considering we make up half his bloody house,” Charity whispers angrily.

“Why doesn’t he?” Vanessa asks, carefully measuring her dried earwigs.

“Politics,” says darkly. “People always think of the Dingles as a unit, like we’re one person. No one sees us as individuals.”

“Well, you seem pretty individual to me,” Vanessa says. She frowns at the way Charity is slicing the salamander tail. “I mean, for example, your approach to dicing is _very_ unique.”

“God, you’re going to be one of those swots who actually care about doing good in school, aren’t you?” Charity sighs dramatically, but Vanessa notices out of the corner of her eye that she discards the salamander tail and begins again, this time taking more care to dice evenly.

“Well, I have a lot of catching up to do,” Vanessa mumbles quietly. It’s been her biggest fear, that she’ll be so far behind somehow that they might send her home, to a world she already knows she won’t ever belong in again.

“You’re a better witch than half the pure bloods in our year,” Charity says firmly. “Saw you practicing transfiguration in the library yesterday, and you’re way better than anyone in our class.”

Vanessa blushes. “You saw me? Why didn’t you come say hi?”

Charity shrugs, not looking at her. “You were with your friends, weren’t you?” 

“You’re my friend too.” Vanessa turns to look at her. “Aren’t you?”

“Guess I am, if you want to be,” Charity replies, and shoves the chopping board over to Vanessa. “Now, do these tails meet your exacting standards?”

“They’ll do,” Vanessa says in a fake snooty voice, and they giggle softly into the steam of their cauldron so Slughorn doesn’t look over.

*** 

Vanessa opened the window earlier when she came up, since she had to light the fire for the floo powder to work, but any cool breeze is completely cancelled out by the heat from Charity’s body as it presses against her own.

She feels like she’s melting, like Charity’s mouth and hands are burning her clothes right off her.

The last time they did this, Vanessa had been sure it would be the last time, ever. 

The Order had been losing badly, and You-Know-Who’s numbers had been swelling. They’d fucked with a kind of end-of-the-world desperation, clawing at each other like they wanted to make sure that the other took pieces of themselves away, after. To leave something behind. 

They’d bitten and scratched and Vanessa had felt it for days. She’d relished the ache, like having a piece of Charity with her, inside of her, when the world around her was dark and bleak and painful.

Today is different. There are no death eaters to worry about nearby, no one hunting them. Today they have time, and Vanessa intends to use it.

Back then, Charity usually took the lead and Vanessa let her. Loved it.

But not today. Today, she presses Charity against the post of the four-poster bed with its shabby red curtains, and peels her out of her soft grey robes with purpose. She kisses her neck, on the spot just above her collar bone that she’s spent nights fantasising about all these years, and her body ignites as if lit by a switch when Charity still arches the same way she did back then into her mouth.

Her body is different; her curves are fuller and her stomach is softly rounded, a sharp contrast to the starved, skeletal look of Charity’s body back when they were younger.

But it’s the same as well; the two little beauty marks on her chest, the ticklish spot on her ribs.

Vanessa has dreamed about this body – hot, feverish dreams that no one has been able to fuck out of her consciousness in all these years, and now that she can touch it again, she wants to worship it. 

She takes her time, slowly kissing every inch of Charity’s torso until she growls in frustration and practically rips Vanessa’s robes off her.

“Can’t believe you still wear yellow,” she growls into her mouth. 

“You used to like it,” Vanessa gasps as Charity’s fingertips pinch her nipples gently.

“Didn’t say I don’t still like it.” She curls her hand around Vanessa’s hip and tugs her forward, pulling her towards the bed. “Like a lot of other stuff about you too.”

“Yeah?” Vanessa pushes her onto the bed gently and straddles her hips. “Like what?”

Charity tugs her face down and gently parts Vanessa’s lips with her tongue. “How about I just show you?”

*** 

Despite what Vanessa said, Charity only talks to her in potions class and keeps her distance otherwise. 

Vanessa is both relieved and frustrated by this. Both Paddy and Rhona have strongly counselled her against friendship with Charity; have shown her numerous articles in the _Daily Prophet_ quoting members of the Dingle family regarding their petition to the Ministry to ban muggle born students from Hogwarts.

But Charity has never been anything but nice to Vanessa. Ok, she’s a bit prickly sometimes, and moody, but Vanessa knows she can be too. And they have fun.

Rhona and Paddy are fun too, but they take their school work very seriously, and it’s nice to have a bit of a laugh sometimes too. Charity can make her laugh like no one else can.

She doesn’t particularly like the crowd that Charity hangs around with, though. At meals, she’s often with the other Dingles, led by her older cousin Cain, and the Tate siblings. Although none of them have ever done anything to her, she’s heard rumours of them picking on other first year muggle borns, and seeing Charity with them makes her uncomfortable.

But in portions class, it’s like they pretend the outside world doesn’t exist. The Thursday double period potions class becomes Vanessa’s favourite, and she thinks Charity enjoys it too, because she smiles and laughs and Vanessa hardly ever sees her do that when they pass outside of class.

She asked her, once, self consciously, why Charity never says hi to her in the corridor. “Look, your friends don’t like me,” Charity sighed in response, and shook her head over Vanessa’s halfhearted denials. “And my family is….” She’d trailed off, plucking at the unicorn hair in front of them. “It’s just better for both of us that way.”

And Vanessa doesn’t like it, but the way Charity’s eyes went dark and stormy when she explained it stops her from waving when they pass or inviting her to sit with her and Rhona in the library.

She worries, over summer, that maybe Charity doesn’t actually like her and is too nice to say it, even though rationally she knows that Charity is direct about her likes and dislikes (she dislikes a lot of things and people and isn’t shy about sharing that with Vanessa). But when second year starts and she walks into potions for the first time, she sees Charity sitting at the back, at their table, waiting for her.

Charity rolls her eyes at her wide smile, but Vanessa sees the softness around her eyes and knows she’s not actually annoyed. “God, you’re always so bloody cheerful.”

Vanessa shoves her gently with her shoulder. “Got to cancel out your face, don’t I?” she teases, and laughs at Charity’s mock scowl.

*** 

For a few moments after Charity crawls up from between her legs and pulls the covers over them, they lie together in silence. Vanessa’s heart is still racing and little aftershocks occasionally ripple through her, and she covers her eyes with her slightly sticky hand, trying to get control of herself.

She’s been remembering, fantasising about this for so long, but the reality of it is so much more than any of her memories.

Maybe it’s the years between them, the other people they’ve touched, or maybe it’s the knowledge that after all this time there is still something between them, but her body is thrumming with something she’s never felt before.

“I’m sorry,” Charity says softly, not looking at her. She’s gently running her finger tip down Vanessa’s rib cage, counting the ribs one by one, up and down. “I’m sorry about what I said, that day.”

Vanessa tries not to tense, because she knows that’ll make Charity withdraw, but it’s hard. She doesn’t need to ask what day, or what thing she said she’s talking about, because those words are burned into her heart like Charity branded them on her with a poker.

“It’s ok,” she lies, clenching her fist around the sheets.

Charity raises her head up at that, and she sighs softly. “No it’s not.” 

“You’d been through a lot,” Vanessa says, with more feeling because that is true. “And I knew you didn’t really mean it.”

Her voice shakes a little as she says it. _Please say you didn’t mean it._

“I didn’t.” Charity says quickly. “I just…I was angry and Askaban was-“

She shudders and Vanessa turns and wraps her in her arms, the way she’d longed to do back then when she’d been waiting for Charity at the dock, when she’d got out, pale and clammy, and seen Vanessa standing there with Noah.

“You don’t have to talk about it,” Vanessa says softly. “But if you want to, I’ll listen.”

Charity laughs but it sounds a little wet, and after a moment she sits up and wipes at her eyes, pulling out of Vanessa’s embrace. “God, you haven’t changed at all.”

Vanessa frowns, because she feels like everything about her has changed. “What do you mean?”

“Still like to play therapist after sex,” she laughs, like that’s what it was, all those whispered confessions after they touched.

Hurt, Vanessa tugs her sheets up to her chin. “You haven’t changed either,” she says with an edge, and Charity’s eyes harden as she realises that Vanessa doesn’t mean that as a compliment.

“Yeah, well, leopard and spots and all that,” she says sharply. 

Charity’s exactly the same. Prickly and hard and defensive, and Vanessa could cry because she still aches at the way Charity pulls up her shoulders like she’s putting on armour.

“Good thing I like your spots, then,” she says, rising up to her knees and moving closer again.

Charity gives her that look of surprise that she used to give her all the time in school, whenever Vanessa blatantly ignored social rules and went to spend time with her.

But there’s something like relief in her eyes, too, and she wraps her arms around Vanessa’s bare waist and tugs them close. “Come here,” she whispers against her mouth, and Vanessa sighs and melts against her again.

*** 

Vanessa wasn’t exactly sporty in the muggle world, but she always enjoyed netball, and so she tries out for the Hufflepuff quidditch team in second year as a bit of a lark.

But although she’s at a disadvantage when it comes to flying, since most of the kids have about a decade more experience than her, it turns out not all that many of them can catch a ball, which is how she ends up being a substitute chaser. 

Charity’s on the Slytherin team too, a beater. Half the team are made up of people from her cousin’s little gang, and Charity doesn’t seem all that enthusiastic, more like resigned to her fate.

But when Vanessa moans about how little flying lessons they got last year and how she still sometimes struggles with turns, Charity surprises them both by asking her if she wants to practice together on Saturday.

It’s the first time ever Charity has suggested doing something together outside of potions. Before exams last year, Vanessa persuaded her to study together a couple of times, but it was quite an effort to get her to come and then stay.

Vanessa stutters out a yes before Charity can take it back, and they don’t really make eye contact for the rest of class.

But then Charity mutters “See you Saturday,” before she storms out, and Vanessa doesn’t stop smiling for the rest of the day.

Charity isn’t the most conventional of flying teachers, but she’s surprisingly patient and at one point she makes Vanessa laugh so hard she has to land in case she falls off.

She expects it to be a one off, so when Charity says “Same time next week?” she can’t keep the surprised, pleased grin off her face.

She gets better, as well, and in the last game of the year against Ravenclaw, she gets put into the first team, and when she tells Charity and hugs her, Charity hugs her back.

*** 

When Vanessa emerges from the bathroom the next morning, Charity has pulled her robes back on and is using her wand to smooth out the curls of her hair in the mirror.

She bites her lip for a moment, and then decides she’s too old to be playing games with Charity. “I’m going to be back here quite a lot over the next few months,” she says directly, and Charity looks at her in surprise. “If you wanted to do this again.”

“Ness,” Charity says softly, and Vanessa’s heart sinks. “I’m not really…I’m not so good with…”

“Merlin, I’m not asking you to marry me,” Vanessa says, exasperated. Maybe back in the day that was something she used to fantasise about, but she knows how Charity operates now and commitment isn’t something you can force on her. “I just wanted to know if you might want to see me on occasion.”

Charity relaxes a fraction and then her lips curl into a smile. “Still got that temper, I see.” She shrugs like it’s no big deal, but Vanessa sees the way she’s tugging at her sleeves, a nervous tick she’s had since they were children. “Yeah, ok then.” 

Vanessa turns her head away to hide her smile, because she knows not to take Charity’s apparent lack of enthusiasm personally. Vanessa was there, after all, a few hours ago when Charity whined and sighed against her as she rode Vanessa’s fingers, despite her current nonchalance.

“Ok, good.” She peers over Charity’s shoulder and sighs at her reflection; Charity’s effortlessly glamorous even when she’s just rolled out of bed and Vanessa can’t get her hair to sit flat no matter what she does.

She kisses Charity goodbye, lingering a little just because she can, and feels Charity smile against her mouth.

“See you next time, then,” Charity husks, and Vanessa almost shudders as the words trail down her spine, rich with promise. 

Charity opens the door, and comes face to face with Paddy, who looks between them and goes bright red. 

Charity just gives him a brief nod, and Vanessa tilts her head back and sighs. Of course.

“Now I don’t want to jump to any conclusions,” Paddy says, rubbing his hands against his thighs, “but did I just see what I thought I saw?”

“Leave it, Paddy,” Vanessa sighs, pulling the door of her room shut. “Look, it’s just a casual thing.”

Paddy stares at her. “Vanessa, there’s never been anything casual about you and Charity. Remember last time when-“

“Let’s go see Dumbledore, ok? Don’t want to keep him waiting,” Vanessa cuts him off. She doesn’t want to think about what she’s doing. Doesn’t want to remember how much it hurt last time. She can handle casual. She’s certainly not going to be stupid enough to fall in love with Charity Dingle all over again.

*** 

A week before the start of third year, a witch, her muggle husband, and their eight year old son, a squib, are murdered. Above their house, a mark is branded in the sky; a skull with a snake pouring out of it.

The perpetrators write to the _Prophet_ , calling themselves ‘Death Eaters’ and vow to ‘cleanse the wizarding world of muggle contamination.’

Things at Hogwarts change. Graffiti on the wall of the toilets takes on a nasty, anti-muggle edge. Muggle born kids are tripped between classes, shoved against walls. 

The school divides sharply and it makes Vanessa feel sick to see how many people she’s shared classrooms and quidditch pitches and dinner halls with for the last two years seem to believe that she doesn’t belong.

She doesn’t talk about it with Charity, but it hangs between them anyway. 

Vanessa has seen, just like the rest of the school, the strange tattoos half of the gang led by Cain Dingle got over the summer. The same image as was hanging over that poor family’s house.

Charity doesn’t have one, but she still spends all her time with that group, and Vanessa is _hurt_ by it. She doesn’t know how to say something though, because she’s scared of what Charity might reply.

The Ministry cracks down on hate crimes and appoint an auror to deal exclusively with hate crimes against muggle-borns. He arrests several people over Christmas break, including one of Charity’s uncles.

And then, when school is back, his son, Keeper of the Gryffindor quidditch team, is cursed so badly he is sent to St Mungos. They’re not sure even the experienced healers there will be able to grow his arm back. 

He accuses several people, including Chris Tate and Cain Dingle. They profess their innocence. 

And Charity gives them an alibi.

When Rhona tells her at dinner, Vanessa shakes her head. It _can’t_ be true. Everyone knows who was behind the attack on Kevin, and Charity wouldn’t _lie_ about something so serious.

“Now they’re going to get away with it,” Rhona hisses. “They almost killed him and they just get away with it.”

The Slytherins have quidditch practice Wednesdays after dinner, and Vanessa stalks out to the pitch and waits behind the stands as the team land one by one and head to the changing rooms. 

“Can I talk to you?” she asks sharply, placing herself in Charity’s way. 

Charity sighs and shifts her weight, and Vanessa knows at once that Charity knows what this is about.

“Is it true?” she asks, even though she knows the answer. “You lied and gave them an alibi?”

Charity crosses her arms, defiant. “So what if I did?”

“Charity, Kevin almost died!” Vanessa shakes her head incredulously. “Doesn’t that matter to you at all?”

“What did you expect me to do, Vanessa?” Charity snaps. “He’s my cousin! He’s a Dingle. There’s a code.”

Vanessa reaches into her bag and pulls out her books, one by one. “I came back to my seat in the library yesterday and found this.” She shows Charity the covers of her books, the word ‘Mudblood’ printed in large red letters on every single one of them. “I didn’t think you were like this,” Vanessa says, and Charity flinches. “I thought you were my friend. But Dingle by name, Dingle by nature, eh?”

She gathers up her books and stalks back to the castle, ignoring the hot, angry tears on her cheeks, and not turning once to see if Charity is following her.

*** 

A couple of weeks later, Vanessa is back at Hogwarts to speak to Hagrid about the paddocks for the dragons, and she heads to the Three Broomsticks afterwards, trying to walk at a normal pace instead of rushing so she appears at least semi-casual when she shows up.

“I’m sorry, we’re fully booked for the World Cup semifinals,” Rosmerta says apologetically. “You should have made a reservation!”

“I did!” Vanessa sent an owl a week ago. 

“I’ll sort this, Rosmerta,” Charity says, appearing suddenly out of the back room. 

Vanessa frowns at her. “I owled you.”

“I know.” Charity grins. “And I have a perfectly good bed in my flat upstairs.”

The annoyance leaves Vanessa with a warm rush as she takes in what Charity’s said. “Oh.”

“If you want.” Charity looks down at her nails, deliberately casual. “I mean, not that you have many alternatives now since we’re fully booked, but-“

“Charity,” Vanessa says firmly “Take me upstairs.”

She plans to pounce on Charity the minute the door closes, but she stops short when she realises that they’re not alone. 

The last time she saw Noah, he was a bit younger than Johnny is now. A small, happy little thing with thick blonde hair and big eyes.

Now he towers over her, fourteen and almost grown up, and Vanessa feels a lump in her throat as she remembers burying her face in his little neck and breathing in that soft baby smell as she hugged him goodbye for the last time.

“You remember Noah,” Charity says behind her, and he gives her a grunt of teenage acknowledgement from where he’s standing in the kitchen.

“And this is Moses.” Vanessa looks down and sees a boy who looks so much like Noah when he was little it stops her breath for a moment, pulling himself up on a toy broomstick that hovers half a foot above the ground.

“This is Vanessa,” Charity says, and Noah gives her a strange look.

“You’re Vanessa?” He looks at Charity, but that seems to be all the explaining she’s willing to do. 

“Are you still ok to take Moses to Ross’s?” she asks.

“Said I would, didn’t I?” He scoops up his little brother. “Come on, then.”

Charity kisses the top of Moses’ head and hands Noah the bowl of floo powder, and Noah says “Diagon Alley,” and they disappear into the flames.

“He’s grown so much,” Vanessa manages, wrapping her arms around herself.

“You’ll have to meet him properly some time,” Charity says, oblivious to the way Vanessa’s jaw drops, because _meeting the kids properly_ isn’t exactly how Vanessa would define casual. “I told him that you knew him when he was little, and I think he’s curious.”

 _Did you tell him I was almost his second parent?_ she wants to ask, but instead she steps closer and takes Charity’s hands. 

“He looks so like you.” Everything in the defensive, edgy way he moves is Charity.

“No wonder he has no trouble getting girls then,” Charity jokes, and Vanessa rolls her eyes.

“Big talk from the woman who hasn’t even kissed me yet.”

“Well you’d better come here then,” Charity nods at her, and tugs Vanessa firmly towards her by her robe. 

*** 

Vanessa feels guilty about the way she spoke to Charity all night, and resolves to make up with her in potions the next day. 

Sure, Charity was wrong, but it can’t be easy for her, if she’s being pressured to lie for her family.

And anyway, it wasn’t her fault that Kevin got hurt or that Vanessa’s books got defaced.

She catches Charity before class. “Hey,” she says, trying to catch her eye. “Look, about yesterday-“

“Out of the way, Mudblood,” a voice behind her says, and suddenly Vanessa’s books are slapped out of her hand as Zoe Tate passes them in the corridor. 

She feels her eyes well up and swallows hard; she doesn’t want to give her the satisfaction of seeing her cry. 

She’s been lucky, so far, unlike a lot of the other muggle borns, but this kind of thing is becoming more common and it hurts, to feel that suddenly she’s not welcome in the place she’s learned to call home.

She glances up at Charity, who is biting her lip and has turned away, and then at Zoe who’s still standing there, laughing at her. 

Charity doesn’t even help her pick up her things. 

She feels her cheeks glow red with humiliation and swallows hard against the lump in her throat, and then Paddy and the other Hufflepuffs come over and form a protective barrier around her as she gathers up her things and wipes her eyes on her sleeve.

When the door to the classroom opens, she quickly walks to Professor Slughorn’s desk. “Sir, I was wondering if I might be able to move bench,” she says politely. “I find it a little hard to see from the back.” Slughorn likes her and so he just waves his hand. 

“Yes, yes, Woodfield, no problem.” He glances around. “Sugden, switch with Woodfield.” 

Vanessa doesn’t turn to look at Charity. She’s so hurt she has to clench her jaw together to keep more angry tears from welling up. 

Everyone was right about Charity, everyone who warned her. For two years and a half she’s though they were friends, but all along Charity’s been laughing at her with her friends. Her friends who hate muggle borns and who torture little kids on their parents’ orders. 

She has no idea who Charity even is anymore.

*** 

It’s the end of August, and Vanessa has been up at Hogwarts for the last couple of days, staying with Charity at night. 

She’s met Noah properly now, several times, and Moses too. Noah seems hesitant, like he’s not sure what to make of her.

He rolls his eyes at her jokes, but then listenes eagerly to her stories, like the time she was trying to observe the mating behaviour of the Hungarian horntail and failed to realise the male was right behind her (“Usually you don’t have a problem spotting a horntail, babe,” Charity had said, which made both Noah and Vanessa cringe).

Tonight he’s pointedly left them alone, and Vanessa is torn between her embarrassment that he obviously knows exactly what she and his mum get up to, and her desire to push Charity down on the bed and go down on her like there’s no tomorrow.

Charity makes the choice easy, of course, when she undoes her robes just enough to show Vanessa that she’s completely bare underneath, and Vanessa doesn’t even let her take them completely off before she’s buried her tongue inside Charity, while Charity squirms and arches and presses the back of her arm to her mouth to keep quiet.

“How’s it going?” Charity asks conversationally after, like she didn’t just have three fingers knuckle deep in Vanessa. “The tournament?”

Vanessa had half heartedly tried to comply with her contract and not talk about it, but Charity runs a pub and Ministry employees run their mouths, and at this point Charity probably has a better idea about what’s going on than Vanessa does.

“So far so good,” she sighs. “I’ll have to come back when the dragons get delivered in October but then that’s my bit done until spring.”

Charity is quiet at that, and Vanessa decides to forge ahead, because they’ve been seeing _a lot_ of each other, and she’s tired of pretending that she’s only here for convenience and a quick shag.

“You should come to mine some time,” she says. “Bring Moses. Meet Johnny.”

“Yeah?” Charity asks, and Vanessa suddenly realises that Charity isn’t sure about where they stand either. 

“Yeah.”

“Ok.” 

They grin at each other, then Vanessa settles down against Charity’s chest and closes her eyes as she feels Charity’s arms wrap around her. 

“What happened to Johnny’s dad?” Charity asks out of the blue, and Vanessa’s eyes fly open.

“Erm, well there’s not much to tell.” She’s a little embarrassed and sits up, pulling out of Charity’s embrace. “It was Tracy and David’s wedding. I’d just broken up with someone and I was lonely and this young guy kept flirting with me, and after a lot of wine I slept with him. And then I realised I was pregnant.”

“Did you tell him?” 

Vanessa shakes her head. She sometimes feels guilty about it, but Kirin couldn’t even handle saying goodbye to her the next morning, so dumping a pregnancy complete with ‘magic is real’ and the Statute of Secrecy on him seemed unwise.

“If Johnny had turned out to be a muggle, maybe I would have said. But pretty much straight away he was showing signs of magic, and I just thought it was best this way.”

“Is that when you told your sister? And your dad?” 

Vanessa nods. “David still doesn’t know, but it’s going to get harder to hide when Johnny starts speaking more and gets more power.”

There’s a question on Vanessa’s tongue that she’s been scared to ask, but since they’re sharing, she finds it welling up in her. “Have you…do you see Debbie?”

To her relief, Charity smiles a little. “Yeah, I do. She reached out when she was in Hogwarts, and I see her quite a bit now.” She picks at the sheets. “She’s got kids of her own now.”

Vanessa widens her eyes in mock shock. “You’re a _Granny_?!”

Charity narrows her eyes. “If you want me to ever do that thing with my tongue again, I would suggest you don’t repeat that.”

“I’m glad you found each other,” Vanessa says gently. “I always hoped you would.”

“Me too,” Charity says. She pauses but Vanessa can tell that there’s more to come. “When she wrote to me, at first I wasn’t going to reply. Thought she’d be better off without me.”

Vanessa opens her mouth in protest and Charity places a finger on her lips. 

“But then I had this voice in my head, saying that I should. That I was worth getting to know.” She smiles a little. “Well annoying, that voice. Kind of nagging. Now I’ve figured out it was yours.”

Instantly, Vanessa’s throat closes up and she turns her head so Charity doesn’t see her wet eyes. She doesn’t appreciate big displays of emotion, never has, but Vanessa has always been prone to tears when she’s touched.

“Well, you are,” she says hoarsely. “Worth getting to know. And once someone knows you, really knows you, they won’t ever want to lose you from their life.”

*** 

The last quidditch match of the year is Slytherin versus Hufflepuff, and Hufflepuff are definitely the underdogs.

To win the cup, Slytherin only need to win the match. For Hufflepuff to win the cup, they need to win the match by a margin of at least two hundred and twenty points.

In the run up to the match, the school divides. Slytherin, which has a high proportion of people who believe in the ‘pure blood ideology ‘ as it’s now called in the papers, is deeply unpopular with the rest of the school at the moment, and Vanessa knows that almost everyone will be rooting for Hufflepuff on Saturday. 

But when Saturday rolls round, and they’re standing in a circle on the pitch during the coin toss, Vanessa glances into the stands and sees a bunch of men and women in the Slytherin crowd, in long black robes and with silver pins.

Vanessa can’t see them clearly until she has to fly close to them to duck under a bludger, and she sees that the brooches are that design that Cain and the Tates have on their arm. That awful skull with the snake.

The Slytherin team seem nervous and Vanessa wonders if it’s the presence of those strangers that’s making them fumble and drop the quaffle so much.

The worse they play, the more aggressive they get. There are five fouls in the first forty five minutes, and Vanessa scores three penalty goals.

But in return, the Hufflepuffs are getting hammered by bludgers. Zoe Tate is playing beater along with Charity, and she seems to have it in for Vanessa today. Every time Vanessa gets close to the goal hoops, she has to duck and roll and at one point, hang half off her broom to avoid a very painful bludger-to-face incident. 

They’re doing well but not well enough; they can’t seem to build up enough of a margin that their seeker can catch the snitch, and they’re getting tired.

Vanessa scores two goals and then blocks the return attack, but just as she’s almost back at the Slytherin goal it happens.

She’s too slow. She hears the bludger behind her, but can’t seem to get the old school broom she rides to turn fast enough. She can tell it’s going to really hurt; hopes enough people are watching that if it hits her head and she passes out someone will lower her to the ground, but then suddenly a green flash whizzes past her, and the bludger turns course as it’s whacked hard in the other direction.

She’s so surprised she drops the quaffle, but she can’t even chase it. She just sits on her broom in mid air for a second and stares at Charity.

She finds her eyes and they pause for a second, and Vanessa thinks she sees an apology and regret and fear and something else, something like the longing in Vanessa’s own stomach in her face, and then she turns her broom and flies off.

They lose by twenty points, but the match lasts over five hours and by that point pretty much everyone is ready for it to be over. 

Vanessa is exhausted, fingers stiff from clenching the broom. She lands with her team and they share a semi-dejected group hug.

But Vanessa hardly feels the disappointment of the loss; she’s still stuck on the moment when Charity saved her from the bludger and what it means.

She sits in the changing rooms staring at her hands, and when the rest of the team ask her if she’s coming she waves them on ahead, and they smile sympathetically and leave her to it.

They probably think she wants to have a sulk on her own, but she sticks her head out and waits, until the Slytherin team emerge, victorious and hoisted onto the shoulders of their house, who carry them back to the castle.

But there’s one person missing, and Vanessa’s heart starts thumping as she knocks on the door.

Charity opens and tugs her inside quickly.

“Congratulations,” Vanessa says. “You deserved it. You know, apart from all the fouls, you were the better team.”

Charity has her back to her, tying her laces, and Vanessa keeps babbling nervously.

“Thanks. For, you know, helping me up there. If that was intentional. Or, well, either way, because the effect was the same.”

Charity turns round, and her eyes are blazing with a fire suddenly that Vanessa has never seen before.

“Vanessa,” she says, throaty and low and Vanessa’s heart starts thumping so loud she’s surprised Charity can’t hear it.

And then Charity steps close to her, curls her hand around the back of her head, and pulls her in for a kiss.

It’s not Vanessa’s first kiss; the Hufflepuffs played spin the bottle last Christmas and she kissed Toby Jenkins and Eliza Diggory, but this is the first kiss where she feels like she might die if it ever stops, where the soft touch of their lips makes her feel like she’s back on her broom sailing in the sky and free falling all at once.

She gasps, pulling back a little in surprise, and when Charity furrows her brow and moves to step back, she quickly leans in again and gives her another soft kiss.

She doesn’t know how long they stand there, arms wrapped around each other and touching their lips together, first gently and then not so gently, and then slowly, hesitantly, sliding their tongues against one another, but when they finally part, there’s pink twilight falling through the windows, bathing Charity in a delicate glow.

“I have to go,” Charity says. She kisses her again and Vanessa makes a little noise in her throat when she pulls back that’s embarrassing and entirely involuntary. “Promise me something?”

Vanessa nods; she doesn’t trust her voice right now.

“Be careful, ok?” She suddenly hugs Vanessa tight, and her next words sound kind of choked. “Be careful.”

Then she rushes out of the changing rooms in a flurry of green quidditch robes, leaving Vanessa confused, lips tingling, and with a bad feeling of foreboding in her stomach.

***  
“Hey!” Charity smiles at her from behind the bar. “Wasn’t expecting you for a couple of hours yet, thought the party would be going well into the night.” Then she sees Vanessa’s face. “What’s wrong? What’s happened?”

Vanessa’s still shaking, she hasn’t stopped since the body of Cedric Diggory, clutched in the arms of a bleeding Harry Potter appeared back in the maze earlier tonight.

She glances around; the pub is almost empty. Most of the Hogsmeade residents are up at the school to watch the third task.

“Come with me.” She grabs Charity’s arm and drags her upstairs. 

“Ness!” Charity protests, but Vanessa doesn’t stop until they’re in the flat. She checks each room quickly, and makes sure no one has got here yet. 

“Pack a bag,” she says. “For you and Moses.”

“What?” Charity tries to reach for her but Vanessa rushes to the window, wand at the ready. “Vanessa! What’s going on?”

“He’s back, Charity!” Her voice is shaking and she takes a deep breath. “You Know Who. He’s back.”

Charity staggers backwards. “No.”

“Charity, we have to go now.” 

Charity is shaking her head. “No, he can’t be.”

Vanessa casts one last anxious look outside, then grabs Charity’s face in her hands. “You have to listen to me, Charity. He’s back. They’ll be coming for you. We have to go, now.” She presses their foreheads together, breathing in Charity’s smell: a mix of the citrus shampoo she uses, butterbeer, and fresh laundry.

“Ness,” Charity says, in a voice Vanessa hasn’t heard in over a decade. She’s scared, and that cuts through Vanessa’s own fear. 

“I’m taking you to a safe house,” she says. “You and Moses. Noah can stay at Hogwarts for now, it’s the safest place for him.”

Charity’s eyebrows draw together. “So you’ve just decided that, have you?”

“For Merlin’s sake, can you stop being so bloody stubborn and let me help you for once?” Vanessa says, and she’s so frustrated she actually stamps her foot. 

The hardness around Charity’s eyes softens. She opens her mouth and Vanessa knows that she’s going to apologise. 

“Come on,” she cuts across her. “You pack your stuff and I’ll get Moses’s, ok?”

Charity presses a quick, hard kiss against her mouth and nods. It says the things Vanessa knows Charity finds it hard to put into words: thank you; I’m sorry; I’m scared.

“Five minutes,” Vanessa says. “Then we’ll go get Moses.”

*** 

She doesn’t manage to catch Charity alone during the brief weeks that remain of the rest of the year, and when Vanessa goes back to Hogwarts for her fourth year, Charity isn’t there.

At first she thinks she must have got sick on the train, when she doesn’t spot her blonde curls at the Slytherin table, but Charity doesn’t appear anywhere the next morning either.

Vanessa waits a week, in case she’s just sick or late or something, but she’s nowhere.

So on Sunday at breakfast, she squares her shoulders and goes to the Slytherin table. 

The conversations she passes die as she walks over to where the Dingles and their friends sit, but she ignores that resolutely. They can call her a Mudblood as much as they want, but she’s going to get some answers.

“Chas,” she says, picking Charity’s younger cousin as the most likely person to actually speak to her.

Chas turns and her eyes widen in surprise when she sees who’s talking to her. The rest of her friends and family all fall silent and stare at her.

“Where’s Charity?”

“What business is that of yours?” Chris Tate stands up and crosses his arms, but Vanessa feels a surge of fury that keeps her fear at bay. 

“I’m her friend. And I’m not talking to you.” She turns back to Chas. “Where is she?”

“You should leave now,” Cain says, and the two boys behind him reach for their wands. 

“She won’t be in school this year,” Chas says quietly, and Vanessa turns to her, alarmed. 

“What do you mean? Where is she?”

“You should leave now,” Cain repeats firmly, and Vanessa realises that she’s half surrounded. 

She backs away, frustrated and anxious, but she doesn’t try again. She thinks about trying to send Charity a letter, but she’s worried about what could be keeping her away and whether things might get worse if she writes to her.

And then there’s a rumour, just after Christmas, that makes Vanessa blood turn cold. 

That Charity’s pregnant. With her cousin Cain’s baby.

She doesn’t want to believe it. She tells Rhona that it’s a nasty lie and refuses to speak about it. 

But in her gut, she knows the truth. 

***  
Vanessa casts her patronus (a large eagle owl Rhona raised her eyebrows at very pointedly the first time she saw it) and waits as it moves through the wall, until Charity appears at the door to take the wards down.

Charity’s in a strop, Vanessa sees immediately, and she sighs because it’s been an awful, exhausting day, and she’s going to have to ruin Charity’s now too.

“Party in London finally over?” Charity snips. She’s still not over that they haven’t let her into the headquarters (“So the little snake Severus Snape gets to join your little club but I have to stay outside,”) and she hates it when Vanessa goes to Order meetings.

“Charity, you know why it has to be this way,” she says, too tired to put up with her childishness tonight. Not when they have something serious to discuss. “Can we sit down?”

“Who’s dead?” Charity asks immediately, and Vanessa hates that she’s so transparent with bad news. 

Reluctantly, she pulls the paper out from behind her back. “There’s been a mass break out out of Askaban,” she says gently, as Charity snatches the _Prophet_ out of her hand, almost tearing the paper.

“The Lestranges are out. So are your cousins and your uncle.” She bites her lip. “And Bails.”

Charity turns on her heels and marches into the kitchen. 

“Charity,” Vanessa says, looking at the ceiling briefly before squaring her shoulders for the fight she knows is coming if Charity is in this mood. “You have to talk about this.”

“No, I really don’t, Vanessa.” She grabs a bottle of fire whisky and takes a swig straight from the bottle. “I might have to be your pathetic little prisoner in this stupid house in stupid Yorkshire. I might have to kowtow to Dumbledore and your stupid Order. But I don’t have to talk about anything I don’t want to.”

Vanessa bites down her sharp retort, because Charity might be itching for a fight, but she’s not going to get one here.

“You’re not my prisoner. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. We don’t have to talk, but I thought it might help. Or if you want, we can just go to bed and have a cuddle?” She keeps her voice gentle and slow, the way she talks to frightened unicorns when they get separated from the herd.

Charity snorts. “A cuddle, eh? That what they’re calling it these days?”

Vanessa flinches. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Isn’t it?” Charity rises, pressing her body close to Vanessa’s, and even now, like this, it makes Vanessa’s breath catch. “I know you want to.”

Vanessa looks Charity dead in the eye. It’s always been like this, push and pull, and she knows the only thing that will get through now is absolute honesty. “Of course I want to. I always want you. But what I want more is just to be there for you. If you honestly want me to go I’ll leave you alone, but I just want to help you.”

“Why?” Charity asks harshly, but Vanessa knows the question is real. “No one else ever has.”

“Because I think you’re amazing,” Vanessa says, reaching for her hands gently. “I’ve thought so since I was eleven and I never stopped. Because you stood up to them, to your father and Bails and you helped us, and you got away. You made a life for yourself and your kids despite what happened to you. Your strong and you’re incredible and I-“

“Stop!” To her horror, Vanessa realises Charity is crying. “I’m not. I’m not any of those things, I’m not-“

“You are!” Vanessa feels her own eyes brimming with tears as she grabs Charity and pulls her close, catching her as they sink to the cold kitchen floor. “You’re amazing. You’re wonderful.” 

“Ness,” Charity sobs, but Vanessa isn’t sure she even knows what she’s saying. “Ness.”

“I’ve got you,” Vanessa whispers into her hair. “I promise. I’ve got you. And I’m not going anywhere.”

*** 

Vanessa catches sight of her during her and Paddy’s second sweep of the train as the newly-appointed Hufflepuff prefects on the first day of fifth year.

She’s standing by the food trolley, weighing up a chocolate frog and a packet of every flavour beans.

Vanessa almost trips over her own feet, then leaves Paddy to sort an argument over whether the Tornadoes are the best quidditch team of the century and hurries over.

“Charity!” 

Charity looks up, and Vanessa stops in her tracks. It’s Charity, alright, but she’s different. Older looking, cheekbones jutting out in sharp relief. She’s that kind of sickly pale colour that people who haven’t been outside all winter acquire, and her eyes are hard and cold, with no hint of the humour Vanessa used to love about her.

“What do you want? Is it against the rules now to eat sweets?”

Vanessa wrinkles her brow. “I just wanted to say hi!”

“Hi.” Charity turns to walk away, and Vanessa reaches for her shoulder. Charity flinches so violently that Vanessa jumps half a foot in the air. 

“Sorry!” Vanessa says quickly. “I just…how have you been?”

Charity rolls her eyes. “Haven’t you got the message yet? Stop following me like a lost puppy and go away.” 

Vanessa swallows hard and turns on her heels, marching up to Paddy who is still trying to separate the Tornadoes from the Canons fans. “For Merlin’s sake, nobody cares!” The second years freeze. “Now back to your seats before I deduct points from each of your houses!”

Eyes wide, they scuttle off, and Vanessa marches further down the train before he can question her.

That night, when she’s just finishing to put away her clothes out of her trunk, a first year brings her a note. “This came for you,” she says shyly, and Vanessa nods her thanks and unties it. 

A feather falls out, brown and dabbles, and she recognised it as Frances’, Charity’s owl, at once. 

And in Charity’s small, messy script, the following:

_I need to see you. Meet me tonight at 11. Prefects’ bathroom._

Vanessa crumples the note and throws it on the floor.

She’s not going to let herself be humiliated by Charity, so if she thinks Vanessa is just going to sneak out of bed at her beck and call after what she was like today she has another think coming.

*** 

Vanessa risks coming back to the safe house sooner than she normally would, because she’s worried about how the Askaban breakout is affecting Charity.

They spent most of that night on the kitchen floor, with Charity eventually falling asleep in Vanessa’s lap, and Vanessa summoning a blanket to put over her while she stroked her head for hours until the sun was almost up.

But the next day, Charity was acting like nothing was wrong, and when Vanessa had to leave, she had a sick, anxious ball in her stomach for the rest of the day.

She’s on her assignment in the Ministry for the next three days, ostensibly to consult on the new laws on ethical unicorn rearing, but she spends most of her time trying to get the employees of the Magical Creatures Department on side about You Know Who.

The results are not encouraging, and by the end of the long, depressing week all she wants is to grab Johnny and head to the safe house, to curl up in Charity’s arms and pretend for one night that there isn’t another war looming.

She’s normally good at impulse control, at thinking first and acting later, but she’s always had trouble with that where Charity is concerned and so once she’s collected Johnny she apparates to the small village in Yorkshire rather than to London, pulling out her wand after a cursory check for muggles and casting her patronus.

It takes Charity a long time to open, so long that Vanessa’s starting to panic about having to break down the wards and glancing up to make sure the dark mark is nowhere to be seen.

When the door eventually opens and Vanessa slips inside, she sees immediately that Charity’s crying. 

“Charity?” Johnny asks, reaching for her.

But where Charity would normally reach for him, bounce him until he giggles, or exaggerate his weight, pretending to buckle under it, she steps back today with a haunted look.

Johnny’s bottom lip begins to tremble. “Charity?”

Vanessa quickly turns him to face her. “Why don’t we go say hello to Moses, ok? And you can play a bit while I have a chat with Charity before dinner.”

She walks past Charity and gives her hand a quick squeeze in passing, before finding Moses in the living room. She returns his hug, pleaded at how well he’s taken to her and to this.

It must be hard, for Ross, not being able to see him.

But Dumbledore was firm on not revealing the location of the safe house, and Ross knows that Moses’ safety is the most important thing.

Once the boys are settled, she heads to the kitchen, which has become her and Charity’s place to have ‘talks’ away from little ears.

Charity is sitting at the table, clutching something in her hand.

A hat, for a baby.

For a wild moment, Vanessa thinks _She’s pregnant!_ before her brain catches up with her. She certainly doesn’t remember doing any sort of complex fertility magic recently.

“What’s happened?” She tries to keep her voice calm, like she’s not panicking and thinking about all the worst case scenarios internally. “Is it Bails?”

“Cain wrote to me,” Charity says, voice hoarse.

“ _What_?!” So they’re looking for her. But they haven’t found her yet. “Did he threaten you? I swear, Charity, if you don’t feel safe here anymore I’ll get you moved. I can speak to Dumbledore tonight.”

“It wasn’t that kind of letter.” Charity’s still playing with the hat, still looking at her hands. “This was for Him. The second baby. The one who…”

Vanessa freezes. Charity has only ever spoken about this once, to her, always seemed like she just wanted to forget.

“He didn’t die, Vanessa,” Charity says, and tears start spilling over her face. “Cain lied.”

Vanessa feels her hand cover her mouth. She can’t believe what she’s hearing.

“They did the tests and Cain knew there was something wrong. He knew they’d kill him for being different. So he took him and hid him with a family somewhere. Told the rest of us he died.”

“Oh, Charity.” Vanessa can hardly comprehend this. She remembers the way Charity’s body shook, when she talked about him. How she never even got to hold him, see his face.

She’s mourned him, all these years, Vanessa knows that, and to find out that all this time he’s been alive…

“He said he thought he was doing the right thing,” Charity whispers. “But then in Askaban he was worried he might die without anyone else knowing about what happened.”

“And you’re sure Cain’s telling the truth?” Vanessa doesn’t want to hurt Charity more but Cain Dingle isn’t exactly top of her list of reliable sources. “He isn’t just trying to use this as a way to lure you in?”

“I believe him,” Charity says, and there’s something in the way she says it that makes that old jealousy rear it’s head again. But now isn’t the time, and Vanessa quashes it firmly back down.

“Did he say anything about who he left him with?”

Charity bites her lip. “It was the midwife that took him. She was someone from the village and Cain said she and her family disappeared with the baby.”

“Ok.” Vanessa always feels better when she has a plan, and she has one now. “Ok. I’ll find out what I can, alright?”

Charity looks at her, eyes wet. “What if he can’t forgive me, Ness?” She shakes her head. “Debbie blames me, I know she does. What if he does too?”

Vanessa has met Debbie a couple of times now. They’ve put her in another one of their safe houses, close to Hogwarts. Her eldest child is a first year and she wanted to be close to her.

She’s an angry woman, very like Charity in a lot of ways, but there’s enough Cain in her for Vanessa never to feel entirely comfortable around her.

She has a way of looking at Vanessa, as well, like she’s looking right into her, and Vanessa isn’t always entirely sure she trusts what side she’s on.

Not that she can blame her. Charity and her daughter have been used by both sides of this war; pawns in a much bigger game. It’s hard to see why either of them should commit to one or the other since they’ve never been given a reason to trust either.

“We’ll find him, and you’ll get to know him, and he’ll understand,” Vanessa says firmly, hoping she can keep that promise. 

*** 

She manages to resist the invitation until ten fifty five, then pulls on her dressing gown and slippers and slips out of her dormitory and the common room, and hurries up the stairs.

Charity is already there, pacing anxiously. “You’re late.”

Vanessa ignores her, turning to the portrait and gives the password. “Metamorphmagus.”

The portrait swings to the side and they enter the bathroom, Vanessa relieved to find it deserted. 

“What do you want?” She crosses her arms. 

Charity looks a bit taken aback by her hostility. “That’s a nice way to welcome me back.”

“I tried to welcome you back earlier and you shot me down,” Vanessa reminds her cooly, and Charity scuffs her toe on the tiled floor.

“Vanessa, we can’t…” She shakes her head. “Don’t you get that we can’t just be besties and link arms in the corridors and braid each other’s hair?”  
“I don’t do any of those things,” Vanessa says, irritated. “And if you’re so embarrassed to be seen with me, why ask me here?”

“I don’t remember you being this stroppy,” Charity says, pursing her lips, and Vanessa rolls her eyes and turns to go. 

But Charity moves, fast and quick, and blocks the door. “Did you miss me?” She quirks her brow, the way she used to when she’d made a mistake with their potions ingredients and was trying to stop Vanessa from being annoyed, and Vanessa softens despite herself.

“Maybe a bit.” She holds up her thumb and index finger, close together. “Paddy’s not as good at peeling the tentacula seeds.”

Charity grins at her, and some of the hardness goes from her face, making Vanessa’s hands suddenly clammy.

She remembers that the last time she was alone with Charity, there was a lot less space between the, and she blushes.

“Heard you were going out with Adam Barton,” Charity says suddenly, apropos of nothing.

Vanessa cocks her head. “We went to Hogsmeade together once last year, to make Victoria jealous.” She frowns. “Why do you care?”

Charity glances down at her lips, and for a moment Vanessa thinks that they’re going to kiss, again, but at the last moment Charity rocks back on her heels.

Vanessa sighs, relieved and disappointed, and wraps her arms around herself. “Where have you been, Charity?”

Charity walks past her to the bath – a big empty pool of blue tile, and sits at the edge m dangling her legs down. “Surely you’ve heard all the rumours about me?”

Vanessa sits down next to her, close but not touching. “When have I ever listened to what anyone else has to say about you?”

Charity let’s out a little laugh. “That’s true.” She shoots Vanessa a quick glance, then looks away again. “You’ve always been different.”

“I looked for you,” Vanessa says suddenly. It’s important that Charity knows that. “I asked about you.”

“Chas mentioned.” Charity sighs. “You shouldn’t have done that. Now they’re going to be watching you.”

“Who?” Vanessa asks disdainfully. “I’m not scared of Cain Dingle or Chris Tate or any of your _friends_.”

“Vanessa,” Charity says, sounding exasperated and fond at once. “Don’t you get it? There’s a war coming and you’re painting a giant target on your back. We need to stay away from each other.”

“Is that what you want?” Vanessa balls her hands into fists. 

“It’s the way it has to be.” 

“I’m not going to let anyone tell me who I can be friends with.” Vanessa juts her jaw out. “Not Rhona or Paddy or Cain or any stupid muggle-hating so called _Death Eater_ -“

Charity turns her head, cups Vanessa’s face in her hands, and kisses her.

*** 

Irene is watching her pace with some amusement. She’s offered Vanessa tea twice already, and Vanessa is on the cusp of asking for some after all just to have something to do while they wait.

“They’ll be fine,” Irene says. “Ryan is a sensible young man. He understands what happened.”

Vanessa sighs and finally sinks onto one of the kitchen chairs. “I just want to protect her,” she says softly. “She’s been through so much already.”

Irene smiles at her. “It’s nice, with everything that’s going on, to see two people so in love.”

Vanessa flinches, because she does love Charity, has loved her for so long she doesn’t know she’ll ever unlearn how to love her, but they’ve never said the words to each other.

It doesn’t feel like they belong in this war, somehow, like saying them now when they could die any day might make them worth less.

“You’re in the Order of the Phoenix?” Irene asks, so casually she might be asking if Vanessa reads _Witch Weekly_ or enjoys gobstones.

Vanessa hesitates, because they’re not supposed to confirm stuff like that to outsiders, but her pause is obviously enough of an answer for Irene.

“I always thought Dumbledore was a bit of a windbag,” she says conversationally. “But that McGonagall had her head screwed on. Even if she’s always had a bit of a temper.” She smiles, her eyes far away. “I remember, when we were at school together-“

The door to the living room opens and Ryan and Charity come out. Vanessa jumps to her feet at Charity’s red rimmed eyes, but she’s smiling; a smile that reaches eyes and smooths the deep worry lines around her mouth, and Vanessa starts to breathe again.

“Alright?” she whispers softly as she goes to Charity and wraps an arm around her waist. 

Charity nods and kisses the top of her head. “Yeah.” She breathes in slowly. “Thank you, babe. For finding my boy.”

Vanessa looks at Ryan, who stands almost a foot taller than her, and he grins at her. 

Vanessa hadn’t been sure she’d been doing the right thing, initially. It had taken her months before she managed to track down the midwife, and she’d had to call in every favour she had with the Ministry to get a current address.

She’d been anxious as well, that Irene might have turned to You Know Who’s side in the years since she left the village Charity grew up in, or that the baby maybe died after all.

But the risks have been worth it, to see Charity happy for the first time in what seems like an eternity. 

Some risks are worth taking, for the chance that things will turn out like this. Vanessa believes that firmly; it’s what’s always drawn her to Charity against advice and reason. 

She leans into Charity, soaking up her affection, freely given for once in the wake of her happiness, and hopes that one day they can have this without fear, and hiding, and safe houses and code names. Just them and their boys, finally happy.

*** 

“I wanted to ask you something,” Vanessa gasps, pulling away from Charity’s dangerously inviting mouth.

Charity leans in again and places a kiss on Vanessa’s neck, and she shivers and clutches her hands tighter on Charity’s hips. 

“Charity,” she moans, pushing her away half heartedly. “I’m serious.”

“Fine.” Charity pulls away and primly folds her hands in her lap. “What did you want to ask, Ms Woodfield?”

Vanessa laughs. She’s been laughing a lot, recently, ever since her and Charity started sneaking off together at every opportunity to make out breathlessly in empty classrooms and the prefects’ bathroom and once, in the potions supplies cupboard.

Outside these moments, they pretend they don’t know each other. Rhona clearly suspects something, but she doesn’t ask and Vanessa’s kind of glad because she doesn’t know how to explain this. They don’t talk about what they’re doing, what they are. But she can’t stop thinking about Charity, pretty much ever, and she’s happier when Charity comes into the room. 

“I wanted to ask if you wanted to come to Slughorn’s Christmas party with me?” Vanessa is a reluctant member of the Slug Club (Slughorn’s select group of students he thinks will go far and who he helps with connections after Hogwarts), but Professor Kettleburn had suggested he might be able to help Vanessa get that internship at the dragon refuge in Romania next summer, so she goes to the events and tries to ignore all the students with “Keep Magic Pure” badges on their robes. 

Charity is most definitely _not_ in the Slug Club, but they’re allowed to bring a guest, and Vanessa thinks the party will be a lot more enjoyable if she can drag Charity off to a corner under the mistletoe and make out.

But Charity is frowning at her. “Well, I’m actually already going.” She gives Vanessa one of those apologetic grins, and Vanessa already knows she’s not going to like what Charity says next. “With Cain.”

Jealousy, white hot and sharp, stabs her gut. 

She knows what Charity has said about Cain. That he was helping her out. That that freak Bails wanted to start some sort of pure blood breeding program featuring Charity, that the only way she saw out of getting sold to the highest bidder was to be pregnant already, and that Cain helped her.

She can’t imagine what that must have been like for Charity, or what it must have felt like to have to give up one baby and have another one die before you even got the chance to hold it.

But no matter what, Cain still got a thirteen year old girl pregnant, and then left her in that toxic house while he swanned off to Hogwarts as if nothing had happened.

And yeah, he was only fifteen, but Vanessa’s fifteen now and she knows she would die before she abandoned Charity like that.

“With Cain,” she says flatly, and sees Charity’s hackles rise defensively.

“I’ve told you Ness, we have to be careful. How would it look if I showed up there as your date?”

Rationally Vanessa knows that’s true, but it still hurts. “Right.”

“We can sneak off after?” Charity says, nudging her with her toe. 

“I have an essay to finish, I’ve just remembered.” Vanessa scrambles to her feet. 

“Vanessa!” Charity calls after her, but she doesn’t turn around.

She takes Amanda Roberts to the party instead. She holds her hand on the way in and dances with her to a slow song, and deliberately ignores the way Charity glowers at them from the corner where she’s standing with Cain and his gang, looking absolutely gorgeous in red dress robes.

“Want to get some air?” Amanda asks with a wink after an hour, and Vanessa nods, even though she knows she won’t be able to go through with actually kissing her.

They head outside, escaping the sticky heat, but they’ve barely sat down on a bench when Charity appears, face drawn darkly.

“Get lost,” she tells Amanda, who bristles. 

“And who are you?” Amanda says sharply.

In response, Charity draws her wand, and Vanessa gets up quickly. “What are you doing?” She grabs Charity’s wand arm. “Put that away!”

She turns to Amanda. “I’m really sorry about this. I’ll come and find you in a bit?”

Amanda rolls her eyes and mutters “whatever” under her breath, before storming back inside.

“What was the point of that little performance?” Vanessa asks.

Charity tugs her arm until they’re standing in the dark shadows. “I came with Cain,” she says, her voice earnest. “But I don’t want anyone but you.”

“Charity,” Vanessa says, anger melting away and leans in to meet Charity’s mouth.

Their kisses so far have been wet and messy, but it’s always been clear that they’re going to stop at some point. 

But tonight, the way their tongues are sliding against one another, Vanessa wants and wants.

Wants to tug off those satin dress robes, wants to touch Charity _everywhere_. 

“Take me somewhere,” she whispers against Charity’s mouth. “Take me somewhere where you can show me.”

***  
“What’re you doing?” Vanessa asks, watching with alarm as Charity stuffs robes into a bag. 

“Ness!” Charity has that wild look in her eyes that she gets when she’s storming headfirst into a plan. “Babe, we have to go.”

“What are you talking about?” Vanessa moves to sit on the bed. “I’ve put a lasagne in the oven, so tea will be about forty five minutes.”

“Babe, no offence, but no one cares about the lasagne.” Charity comes to stand in front of her. “Look, I got another letter from Cain and he said-“

“A letter from Cain.” Vanessa purses her lips.

“Merlin, can you stop with the jealousy and listen to me.” Charity puts her hands on her hips. “We have to start being realistic, ok Vanessa?”

Vanessa stands, mirroring Charity’s posture. “Realistic about what, exactly?

“The Order is going to lose.” Charity looks her dead in the eye. “Dumbledore is old and not nearly as strong as he was. You Know Who has infiltrated the Ministry and it’s only a matter of time before he takes control. We only won last time because of some freak accident with a baby.” 

Vanessa’s blood turns cold. “You’re not seriously suggesting that you go over to the Death Eaters?”

Charity scoffs. “No of course not!” She scowls. “Is that what you really think of me?”

Vanessa shakes her head quickly. “What are you packing for?”

“We should leave. Tonight. Go to Australia or something.”

“You want to run away?” Vanessa is actually speechless.

“Babe, you, me, the boys…we can have a fresh start, yeah? Where no one knows us and there’s no war, and leave all this behind. No more running, no more hiding.”

“And leave our friends to fight our battles for us.” Vanessa can’t believe what she’s hearing. “Charity, we can’t leave!”

“Yes, we can!” Charity grabs her elbows, bending down a little to look her in the eyes. “Come on Ness! Isn’t this what you wanted, all those years ago?”

“And what happens if You Know Who wins, and decides Britain isn’t enough for him? Charity, we can’t run from this!”

“Do you think Dumbledore cares about you?” Charity laughs; a harsh, hard laugh that makes Vanessa ache. “He uses you as canon fodder while he plays out his master plan to take down You Know Who. Dumbledore’s no different than he is. They use people, Vanessa. It doesn’t matter who wins, in the end.”

“Yes it does!” Vanessa throws her arms out. “Because if You Know Who gets his way, then people like me won’t ever get to learn magic. At best we’ll be excluded from the magical world and at worst we’ll be hunted and tortured and killed for sport.”

Charity looks away. “I can get you a fake birth certificate. Cain can-“

“Charity, I don’t _want_ to pretend I’m pure blood! I’m proud of who I am, and I’m not going to teach Johnny to be ashamed of who he is either by lying about where he came from!”

“Don’t you want to keep him safe?” Charity shouts. “Vanessa, every time you go out there I think, what if she doesn’t come back?”

“But at least I’ll have done something!” Vanessa shouts back. “Charity,” she says, lowering her voice, “we have to fight this. If we don’t stand up to this now, our kids are going to grow up in a world where it’s ok to call someone a mudlblood, where blood status determines your whole life before you’ve even opened your eyes.”

“I’m more interested in staying alive,” Charity says. “And I can’t believe you’d risk Johnny’s life for this little vendetta-“

Vanessa shakes her head. “I don’t know who you are right now.” She walks out of the bedroom. 

“Yeah, walk away, that’s what you’re good at!” Charity yells. 

“I can’t believe _you_ of all people think you have the right to say that to me.” Vanessa shakes her head. “Johnny? We’re leaving.”

Her hands shake as she bundles him into his travel cloak. She waits, for Charity to say something, anything, to ask her to stay. 

But she’s dark and silent on the stairs, and Vanessa doesn’t glance back as she slams the door, trying not to squeeze Johnny’s hands too hard.

*** 

Charity and the remaining Dingles don’t come back to school after Christmas in sixth year. 

Charity tells her the night before the train home for the holidays, when they’ve snuck off to the Prefects’ bathroom and are lying in the bath together, surrounded by bubbles. 

Charity’s been quiet all night, and kisses Vanessa with a kind of desperation that Vanessa initially put down to the impending two week separation.

“We’re not coming back,” she says quietly. “Bails convinces Dad that we should train to join the Death Eaters instead.”

Vanessa turns so quickly she slips a little. “What?”

“I’m sorry.” Charity holds her close. 

“We can do something.” She bites her lip. “Go to Dumbledore. You could stay here.”

“I’m sixteen, Vanessa,” Charity says. “My Dad can do what he wants.” She pulls her close. “Look, I just…” she bites her lip. “Be careful, yeah?”

It’s an echo of the last time Charity knew she was going to have to leave, but this time Vanessa knows what it means and she’s not giving up without a fight. 

“Charity,” she says firmly, “we can fight this. If we go to Dumbledore, we can-“

“If I don’t go, they’ll never let me back in,” Charity says firmly. “The Dingles. If I break the code I’ll be burned out of the family tree.”

Vanessa takes her hand. “I’m so sorry. But Charity, they want you to become a _Death Eater_.”

“They have Debbie.” 

Vanessa’s shoulders sag, because that’s the trump card. 

She knows, suddenly, that this is the end. Charity used to have bite, a fight in her, but her year away took it out of her, and there’s just not enough left to openly defy her family on this.

Vanessa can’t help it; tears spill over her cheeks. She suddenly has so much she wants to say, so much that she’s kept inside because Charity isn’t good with declarations and feelings, but she might never get another chance.

“You were the first,” Charity says, her voice rough. “The first good thing in my life. I want you to know that.”

The words Vanessa wants to say die on her lips. “Charity,” she says instead, and it echoes around them, wet and pained.

“Don’t forget me,” Charity whispers against her mouth. 

“How could I?” Vanessa gasps, pulling her close. This could be the last time: the last kiss, the last touch, the last stolen moment. “God, Charity, how could I ever?”

They stay up all night, and only part when they can hear the first students heading down to breakfast. 

Vanessa can’t bring the word goodbye past her lips, but they cling to each other until Charity tears away.

She cries the whole way from Hogwarts to Kings Cross, letting Rhona rub her back while a very uncomfortable looking Paddy passed her tissues. 

Charity is gone, and the war is beginning. 

***  
The first thing to creep into her awareness is whispering near her head. She hears _“…won’t stay closed.._ ” and “… _losing too much blood_ ” and then she’s slipped into the darkness again.

The next time she feels something, it’s a small, clammy hand against her own, and then someone hissing and the hand been removed.

She tries to speak but her throat is parched. Her eyes seem glued together, and then suddenly someone is wiping at them with something damp and soft and she blinks.

She’s in a bedroom she doesn’t recognise, with Rhona sitting on the bed next to her. The bed is four poster with dark red curtains, and the décor is distinctly grand.

Grimauld Place.

“Vanessa,” Rhona says, sounding relieved. “Thank Merlin.”

“What happened?” she rasps. She remembers the fight in Hogwarts- Death Eaters had got in and Dumbledore was away somewhere, and they’d been outnumbered, and someone sent a curse she didn’t have time to dodge…

Her side clenches in pain and she gasps. 

“Easy.” Rhona puts her hands on her shoulder. “You’ve been out of it for over a week. That’s going to take a while to heal.”

Something on Vanessa’s other side stirs, and she slowly turns her stiff neck to see Charity, curled in a chair, sleeping. Her hair is limp and her clothes are crumpled.

“She’s been here since we moved you from Hogwarts.” Rhona gives her a small smile. “She was really scared. We all were.”

“Vanessa?” Charity scrambles upright, and Vanessa sees how pale she is. 

“Hi.” Vanessa tries to smile, but her side feels like it’s on fire. “Ouch.”

“Take this,” Rhona says quickly. “It’ll make you tired but it’ll help.”

Vanessa shakes her head. She needs to say something first. “Charity,” she starts, but Charity shakes her head.

“Don’t.” Her eyes are shining. “It’ll be ok, alright?” She takes the glass from Rhona and holds it up to Vanessa’s lips. “Take this. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

*** 

The last year and a half of Hogwarts have none of the lightness of the earlier years. 

The Dingles aren’t the only ones that pull their children out; the Tates and the Maceys go too.

It should make things easier, that the kids who picked on them and started the fights are gone, but the empty seats in the classrooms somehow drive home that things aren’t normal anymore.

Every day there’s more news reports of deaths of muggle borns and disappearances of those who try to protect them.

After school ends, Vanessa does her Dragon internship for sixth months, but on her break, she goes to visit her old Care of Magical Creatures teacher, and Professor Kettleburn recruits her for the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore’s resistance group.

She joins along with Paddy and Rhona, and although their initial missions are all surveillance, at least she feels like she’s _doing_ something.

Two months in she sees Charity. She’s trailing behind a group of older Death Eaters, looking bored, and Vanessa’s heart almost stops. She’s with Rhona, who keeps giving her worried looks, like she’s going to storm the building they’re observing and break her out.

Vanessa can’t take her eyes off Charity. It’s been two years, but the heartbreak seems as fresh as the first day, and the shock of seeing her is sharp.

Vanessa ends up being on the surveillance team for Charity’s group of Death Eaters for months. She learns that Charity isn’t in the inner circle; she’s a lackey who mainly stands watch. 

That’s a relief; she’s not sure what she would do if she had to watch Charity actively participate in kidnapping and torture.

And then one night, it all goes belly up, and Vanessa is called on to help the order in her first-ever slice of actual action.

They’re protecting an Order safe house who’s cover has been blown, trying to give those hiding inside enough time to get out. 

Vanessa sends hexes left right and centre and stuns a big Death Eater, but that draws the attention of some of the others.

She realises with a sudden panic that she’s going to be duelling an experienced dark witch, and then suddenly a different Death Eater jumps in front of her and starts fighting her. 

They’re all wearing masks, but it takes only a few seconds for Vanessa to recognise Charity.

She’s deliberately missing, Vanessa realises at once, because Charity was never a top student but she’s never missed with her stunning spell and they’re less then five feet away from each other. 

She aches for the girl behind the mask, but there’s no way to talk in the mess of battle.

The Death Eaters eventually retreat, and Vanessa is left in watch duty. 

“Vanessa.” Vanessa turns and sees Charity in the shadows, mask in her hand. She looks awful, pale and gaunt, and without hesitating Vanessa throws her arms around her.

Charity stumbles a little, but when she moves back, she’s smiling. “Not the welcome I was expecting but I’ll take it!”

“What were you expecting?” Vanessa runs her hands over Charity’s face, then her arms, as if reassuring herself that Charity is still whole.

“Maybe an arrest?” Charity says it like she’s joking but Vanessa can hear the edge. “Since you did the exact opposite of what I asked you to do and joined the Order.”

“I don’t know about the rest of the Order, but I don’t tend to arrest people who deliberately _don’t_ hurt me during a duel.”

Charity quirks her brow in acknowledgment. “Look, I can’t stay.” She bites her lip. “I can’t see you. It’s too dangerous.” Vanessa’s stomach drops. She’s _just_ got her back, she can’t give that up. “Meet me at the Leaky Cauldron? The day after tomorrow? Ask for Debbie.”

Vanessa sags in relief. She knows it’s foolish and risky and dangerous, but she can’t stay away.

“I’ll be there.”

*** 

As soon as Vanessa’s wounds stop opening every five minutes and she doesn’t need a healer from St Mungos to pop in on her every day, they move her to the safe house.

She’s still completely wiped out, and ends up being off her feet for almost five months after the attack. 

Over the summer, Noah helps Charity care for her, and he is a much less nervous nurse than Charity is. For the first month Charity doesn’t even like her trying to sit up to take a drink by herself.

She’s good at distracting her, though, because Vanessa is anxious and going stir crazy at not being able to help.

Vanessa’s injury and Dumbledore’s death are one thing, but when the Ministry falls at the end of summer, and the Order officially goes into hiding, a sense of hopelessness descends on them.

Charity tries to shield Vanessa from it, but she’s got her wand and can summon the paper, so she knows when the propaganda swings towards You Know Who what’s happened, even without the visit from Remus to update them.

But for all the bad news and glumness, Charity doesn’t mention running away again, and she even agrees that Noah should return to Hogwarts at the end of summer.

It’s compulsory, to attend now, and they drill the cover story into him: Charity’s abandoned him. He’s a Dingle and wants to join the family. He rejects the Order.

Still, it takes Vanessa framing it as a kind of undercover mission, spying for the Order on the inside that Noah agrees to go back.

They don’t talk about their argument. Vanessa tries, a couple of times, but Charity shuts her down, and that frightened, dark look in her eyes makes Vanessa shut up.

“She was out of her mind,” Rhona tells her one evening when she’s visiting. “Thought she was going to blast Mad Eye out of the way to get to you.”

It makes her feel both guilty and all kinds of warm, that Charity was so worried about her, even after their fight. 

But she knows they need to discuss what happened and that she needs to initiate it, because Charity lets things fester and scab over without confronting the root causes and that’s not good for anyone.

“Thank you,” she says one day when Charity has deemed her strong enough to move to the sofa. “For looking after me.”

Charity rolls her eyes fondly. “Well, it was about time I returned the favour, wasn’t it?”

Vanessa takes her hand and pulls her down next to her. “I’m sorry,” she says, and sees Charity’s mouth open to shush her. “No, let me say this. I should have listened to what you were saying.” She’s had a lot of time to think about it, during her bed rest. “I know why it’s important to you, being safe. Keeping the kids safe.” She swallows hard but she needs to get it out. “And if you still want to, I think you should. When Noah finishes the year.”

Charity’s mouth drops open. “Ness…”

“And maybe,” she says, and the words stick in her throat but she digs her nails into her palms because she has to say it, “maybe you could take Johnny. Keep him safe for me.”

Charity shakes her head, slowly at first and the firmly. “Vanessa!”

“I can’t, Charity.” She’s got tears pressing against the back of her eyes but she’s thought about this a lot. “I can’t leave. Not until I know for sure that we’ve lost. Maybe not even then.” She shakes her head and a couple of tears dislodge. “But you’re right. It’s selfish, to keep Johnny here.”

“You think I could leave you?” Charity slips off the sofa and kneels in front of her, hands on Vanessa’s thigh. “You think _we_ could leave you here?”

“I’m almost healed,” Vanessa says softly, cupping Charity’s face with a soft smile. “Thanks to Nurse Dingle.”

But Charity is still giving her that incredulous look. “Babe,” she breathes, “you’re so smart, with your books and your research, but you’re completely daft sometimes.”

“Charity?”

“I knew the first day I met you that I shouldn’t be near you, that I should forget I ever met you, that it was dangerous for both of us, and I couldn’t stay away.”

“Charity-“

“And you think now, after all these years, you think I could just take our boys and leave you here?”

Charity never really talks about how she feels, and the open, soft look on her face is enough to make Vanessa’s face crumple and her heart to gasp in relief, because she’s been steeling herself, trying to prepare for how it’ll feel to send her family somewhere safe and stay here alone, and the selfish parts of her relax at Charity’s words, at the assurance the won’t even go without her.

“I know I don’t tell you enough,” Charity says, her voice suddenly rough. “I should have told you years ago. When we were in that stupid changing room and you looked like a deer in the wand light when I kissed you-”

“Well, I wasn’t expecting that considering we hadn’t been speaking for weeks-”

“I love you. I really, really, stupidly and completely love you.”

There’s a rushing in Vanessa’s ears, and she knows she’s still crying and looks a fright but her mouth tugs into the widest smile she’s managed in months. 

“Course you do,” she chokes out, “because I wouldn’t go and fall in love with someone who doesn’t love me back, would I?”

Charity clasps Vanessa’s face in her hands, her eyes clear and bright. “You’re not just saying that cause-”

“Charity Dingle.” Vanessa shuffles forward, leaning their foreheads together. “I really, really, stupidly and completely love you too.”

*** 

“How did it go?” Rhona asks, as Vanessa comes out of the door of court room five. 

Vanessa shrugs. “I said my piece. Having you back me up helped, I think, because lots of people know that me and Charity…” She makes a rolling motion with her hands. “I hope it’s enough.”

The end of the war crept up on them suddenly, abruptly. Things had seemed so bleak one moment, Vanessa attending funerals every week and in hiding, and next moment You Know Who was gone, his supporters were being rounded up, and Charity was arrested.

Vanessa didn’t find out about it until almost a week later, and she wasted no time in gathering supporting witnesses. There are only a few members of the Order that knew where Vanessa was getting her information from, about which safe houses were going to get hit next.

She knows some of them were suspicious because they were always ones Vanessa was using, and she hadn’t trusted many of them with Charity’s identity.

But there are enough to hopefully make a difference. To vouch for the little notes, one of Frances’ feathers pined to the seal. To save Charity from Askaban.

Vanessa takes Noah from Rhona, who’s been bouncing him on her knee. 

In the confusion following the end of the war, no one objected to Vanessa taking Charity’s baby. It helps, that his father and most of his family were killed in the attempt to arrest them, and there’s hardly any Dingles that aren’t on trial currently. 

Today while giving evidence was the first time in seven months she’s seen Charity. They’re not allowing visitors to anyone on trial, in case anyone is conspiring to bring back You Know Who, and the wheels of justice are turning very slowly, considering there’s only enough Judges left for one full chamber.

Charity had looked awful. Worse, even, than when she came back from her missed year, back when she had Debbie.

She’s been refusing to give evidence against anyone. 

Vanessa could tear out her hair in frustration at that, because that bloody Dingle Code has never protected Charity from anything but might end up being her downfall.

But she hopes, fervently, that she’s done enough to keep Charity safe. To get her out. Get her back.

Noah blows a bubble in her lap and Vanessa smiles. 

She was worried she’d hate him, when Charity numbly told her she was pregnant, the way Vanessa hated Chris Tate, the man Charity had been forced to marry.

But Noah is a tiny blonde ball of sunshine in the darkness, and Vanessa used to beg Charity to bring him to their meetings, so she could bounce him on her knee and make him laugh and watch his little face drop into sleep.

“She’ll be ok,” she whispers into his soft hair. “Your Mummy will be ok. We’ll get her back, I promise.”

***  
“You Know Who is at Hogwarts. We need help. Meet at Aberforth’s.” 

Minerva’s patronus finishes speaking and disappears into smoke, and Vanessa feels the tingle in her spine of adrenaline and fear, all too familiar.

“McGonagall still isn’t a woman of many words, is she?” 

Vanessa jumps; she hadn’t noticed Charity coming back into the room. “I assume she’s a little busy at the moment.” Vanessa sighs. “Apparently Harry Potter is there. They said he’s worked out how to kill You Know Who.”

Charity’s face is still, unreadable. “And you’re going?”

“I have to.” She takes a deep breath. “This is it, Charity. This is the moment. To take the boys. You still can.” She runs her fingers through her hair. “They’ll be evacuating the school, I can tell Noah where to meet you.”

Charity shakes her head. “Think Tracey would watch Moses as well?”

Vanessa freezes. “You…you want to come? To fight for the Order?”

Charity rolls her eyes. “I’m not coming to fight for the bloody Order, Vanessa. I’m coming to fight for you.”

“Oh.” Vanessa doesn’t think she can speak, and Charity rolls her eyes.

“Don’t cry, ok? We don’t have time for that.” 

“‘Kay,” Vanessa says wetly, wiping at her eyes.

“What’re you like?” Charity tugs her into her arms hard, and Vanessa squeezes back. 

“I love you,” Vanessa says earnestly. “You know that right?”

“Well, you tell me often enough,” Charity smiles. “Always banging on about it and all.”

“And no matter what happens today-”

“Vanessa-“

“- you’ve made me the happiest I’ve ever been.”

Now Charity’s eyes look suspiciously wet. “You’re like a walking Valentine’s day card sometimes.” But she presses her lips to Vanessa’s forehead anyway. “Right, let’s go and show those Death Eaters that they can’t mess with us.”

*** 

Vanessa shifts Noah in her arms anxiously. 

The shore is far enough away that the dark shapes above Askaban don’t affect them, but even the processing centre radiates hopelessness and fear, and she doesn’t want to be here any longer than necessary. 

She watches as the boat pulls up alongside the pier, and Charity stumbles as she gets out, looking like she barely has the strength to hold herself upright. 

No one helps her, and Vanessa quickly moves to the door, huffing when a guard holds out his arm. “Wait here,” he says.

Charity’s eyes widen when she sees them, but she doesn’t smile. 

“Mummy!” Noah holds out his arms, and Charity lets him cling to her, although she makes no move to take him from Vanessa’s arms.

“Hey.” Vanessa bites her lips. “I, erm, booked us on the next portkey, since you can’t apparate here. It’s in a couple of hours.” She waves outside. “Thought you might want to just sit in the fresh air? I brought you some sandwiches.”

Charity still doesn’t say anything, but she nods jerkily, and Vanessa leads them out of the centre and down the path towards the big lawn she played with Noah on earlier when they arrived two hours early.

“He’s been so excited,” Vanessa chatters nervously, “he’ll probably crash out soon.”

“So you took him, then?” Charity says, her voice throaty like she needs to clear it. 

“Yeah.” Vanessa twists her hands, letting Noah down so he can toddle about on the grass. “Is that…I hope that was ok?”

“Thought maybe one of my family might take him,” Charity says. She’s still not looked at Vanessa.

Vanessa sighs. “I haven’t been able to get hold of any of the Dingles.” Not that she’s been trying particularly hard.

Charity snorts, and it’s not a pleasant sound. “No, I’m not surprised.” She looks at Vanessa and her eyes are sharp and hard and angry. “After your little performance in court.”

“My what?” Vanessa turns to her in confusion at Charity’s tone.

“Oh don’t bother with the innocence act, Vanessa,” Charity spits. “You’re not convincing.”

“Charity!” Vanessa has no idea how things have gone so wrong already.

“You jumped at the chance to separate me from my family.” She pulls a face and does an approximation of Vanessa’s voice. “ ‘Charity was on our side. Charity would give us information. Charity saved so many members of the Order. Charity’s never been a true supporter of You Know Who.’” She growls. 

“I was trying to keep you out of Askaban!” Vanessa says, hurt. “You were going to get ten years! I got that down to four months!”

Charity nods mockingly. “And what do you expect in return?” She points to Noah. “My son? Me? What payment do you get for your generosity, _Vanessa_?”

Vanessa flinches. “I did it for you! Not _for_ anything. Because I…” she hesitates, doesn’t want to say the words like this. “You’re my-“

“Your whore?” Charity asks. “Tell me, what was the grand plan? You save me from Askaban and then we move in together and become one big, happy family?” 

It’s everything Vanessa wants, but Charity’s cruel tone poisons it. “I don’t…I just wanted to help, Charity.” She feels tears sting in her eyes. “You don’t have to do anything. I just thought you’d need somewhere to stay but you can do whatever you want.”

“Yes, I can.” Charity shakes her head. “Thanks to you, Debbie probably won’t ever speak to me again. She thinks I got her Dad sent to prison.”

“I’m sorry,” Vanessa says, “but I’m not going to apologise for getting you out.”

Charity snorts, mockingly. “Saint Woodfield strikes again.” She shakes her head. “But you never ask what I want. I didn’t ask for you to get me out, or to take Noah, or to plan my whole life for me.”

“Do you want me to go?” Vanessa chokes out.

“Finally, she gets it!” Charity says sharply. 

“Charity…” she tries one last time, but Charity turns away from her. 

“Goodbye, Vanessa,” she says coldly, and Vanessa sinks to her knees, grabbing Noah into a tight embrace and kissing his head. 

“I love you, darling,” she whispers into his hair, not daring to look at Charity. “I love you so much.”

Then she stumbles, vision blurred with tears, until she reaches the edge of the non-appararation zone, and leaves Charity Dingle behind her.

***  
She loses track of Charity early on in the battle. One minute, she’s behind Vanessa, who is explaining to the kids around her how to attack the acromantula, but when Vanessa turns round the next minute, she’s disappeared.

She doesn’t have time to look for her though, because the Death Eaters descend on them next and they’re forced to retreat into the entrance hall.

“Vanessa!” she hears, and sees Noah, supporting a girl with a gaping wound in her forearm.

“Noah!” She rushes to help him carry the girl to the great hall. “Are you ok?”

He nods. “Is mum here?” 

Vanessa nods, trying not to look worried. “She’s somewhere around.” They lay the girl down and Vanessa summons some bandages and binds the wound firmly.

Once the girl is stable, she turns to Noah. The beautiful boy she met when he was days old, and now sixteen and taller than Charity, and she can’t help but tug him into her arms. 

“I love you, sweetheart,” she whispers. “Be careful, ok?” She knows better than to ask him to evacuate, but she can’t bear the thought of anything happening to him.

“Love you too, Ness,” he mumbles, embarrassed. “And if anyone should be careful it’s you.” He looks pointedly at her side, and for a minute he looks just like his mum. 

They fight back to back, covering each other, and the air is hot and dusty and curses fly over them fast and furious. 

And then she sees Charity and her breath catches in her throat. She’s fighting Bails, and he’s laughing at her. She can’t hear what he says but Charity is pale and shaken and Vanessa’s feet move without thinking. 

She raises her wand and shoots a stunner in his direction. She’s too far away to be able to aim properly, but it distracts him, and Vanessa meets Charity’s eyes. 

_You’re amazing,_ Vanessa tries to convey with her eyes. _Nothing he says is true_.

Charity’s face hardens and she turns back to Bails, raising her wand and sending him flying off the ledge. 

Vanessa jumps back as he careens down and lands in front of her, blood trickling from his forehead. She points her own wand at him and ties ropes tightly round his hands and feet, resisting the urge to stomp on his nose.

This is the man that ruined Charity’s childhood. Who took one baby from her and made Cain hide another from her. Who persuaded her father to pull her out of school at sixteen, who used her as his whore and then sold her to the highest bidder as a ‘pure blood wife’. She _hates_ him, and she keeps pulling the ropes tighter and tighter until she feels Noah’s hand on her shoulder. 

“We’ve got him, Ness,” he whispers. Charity comes down beside them, squeezing Vanessa’s hand, and they look at each other for a moment. 

Behind them, the fight has intensified, and then Vanessa flinches as she sees You Know Who himself, battling Harry Potter.

She takes Noah’s hand in her left and Charity’s in her right, and they join the circle of onlookers, together as the fate of the wizarding world is decided.

*** 

“I swear, we weren’t such little shits,” Vanessa bitches as she pulls her robes off and slides under the covers next to Charity. “One of my third years convinced another that there was a thestral in front of her and she climbed onto this boulder to ride it and then obviously fell into thin air when she tried to ‘mount’ it and broke her wrist.”

Charity snorts. “Sounds like something we would have done, back in the day.”

“I like to think none of us would have fallen for that,” Vanessa says, flopping back onto the pillow with a sigh. 

“Sounds like you need a bit of relaxing,” Charity says innocently, pushing Vanessa onto her front and straddling her legs, rubbing at her back.

Vanessa’s eyes close and she groans softly. The sweetness of the massage is undermined by the wetness against her legs, and the heat from where their bodies touch makes her body tingle and sing out for Charity’s touch.

She’d been initially reluctant, to take up a teaching post at Hogwarts. She loves travelling, researching her books, and Johnny’s still young enough to cope with that. 

But then Charity bought the Three Broomsticks from Rosmerta’s relatives together with Chas, and suggested casually that if Vanessa was teaching she and Johnny could move in with her, and suddenly it was all she wanted.

“I’m not sure that’s very relaxing,” she sighs as Charity leans forward and drags her nipples against her back.

“No?” Charity moves off her, smirking. “Want me to stop?”

“Never,” Vanessa hisses, and rolls over, tugging her down so she collapses on her. “Never.”


End file.
